https://www.scmp.com/rss/310682/feed Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms ever recorded, struck the Philippines in November 2013 with winds of up to 190 mph (305 kph). At least 10,000 people died in one Philippine province alone. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The Philippine military pledged on Thursday to keep up search and rescue efforts after tropical storm Megi ripped through central areas this week, burying many under landslides and killing at least 123 people. Megi was the first cyclone this year to hit the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands that sees an average of 20 tropical storms a year. 42 killed as Tropical Storm Megi pounds Philippines Eighty six of the casualties were in Baybay, a mountainous area prone to landslides... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3174287/least-120-killed-philippines-storm-1-million-affected-many?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3174287/least-120-killed-philippines-storm-1-million-affected-many?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Apr 2022 10:24:00 +0000 Hundreds of thousands of people in the Philippines, Asia’s largest Roman Catholic nation, were marking Christmas on Saturday without homes, adequate food and water, electricity and mobile phone connections after a powerful typhoon left at least 375 people dead last week and devastated mostly central island provinces. More than 371,000 houses were either damaged or blown away in the storm. Before Typhoon Rai hit on December 16, millions of people were heading back to shopping centres, public... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3161047/philippines-typhoon-rai-please-dont-forget-us-homes-water?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3161047/philippines-typhoon-rai-please-dont-forget-us-homes-water?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Dec 2021 07:10:17 +0000 From tropical cyclones to earthquakes, the last decade was the most expensive on record for natural disasters, according to a new report, a trend set to continue amid increased global migration and climate change. Natural disasters caused economic damage of US$2.98 trillion globally between 2010 and 2019, some US$1.19 trillion higher than the previous decade, said insurance broker Aon. The new analysis showed that tropical cyclones have been the most costly since 2000, followed by flooding and... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3047555/bush-fires-earthquakes-typhoons-caused-record-economic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3047555/bush-fires-earthquakes-typhoons-caused-record-economic?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jan 2020 10:15:04 +0000 At least one person has died and tens of thousands have been evacuated as Typhoon Kammuri hits the Philippines’ main Luzon island. Kammuri has continued to gain strength, now packing maximum winds of 175km/h near the centre and gusts of up to 240km/h, the nation’s weather bureau said late on Monday. The 20th storm to enter the Philippines this year is following a track similar to typhoon Rammasun in July 2014, which killed 106 people in the Southeast Asian country and damaged property worth 38.6... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3040163/sea-games-could-be-disrupted-typhoon-kammuri-heads?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3040163/sea-games-could-be-disrupted-typhoon-kammuri-heads?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Dec 2019 04:00:49 +0000 Last week, Japan’s Kanji Proficiency Society revealed its “Word of the Year”, based on a nationwide annual poll organised since 1995. The word was “sa i”, which means “disaster” – chosen for the second time in 24 years. While it was chosen after unprecedented heat, floods and typhoon damage across Japan in 2018, the word was tailor-made for the 25,000 scientists, officials and environmental campaigners gathered for the COP24 global climate conference in Katowice in Poland, who dispersed on... https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/2178208/only-way-kick-world-action-politicians-see-how-climate-change?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/2178208/only-way-kick-world-action-politicians-see-how-climate-change?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Dec 2018 08:00:00 +0000 Just over five years ago, Typhoon Haiyan – one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded – ripped its way through the Philippines, leaving more than 6,300 dead, 26,000 injured, four million displaced and well over US$9 billion in property damage. For 30-year-old Richelle Alvaraz, a mother of six and a resident of the Visayan city of Tacloban – the most severely affected location in the republic – the typhoon (dubbed Yolanda in the Philippines) with its 380km/h winds and unprecedented... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2175847/six-years-typhoon-haiyan-why-are-thousands-filipinos-still-waiting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2175847/six-years-typhoon-haiyan-why-are-thousands-filipinos-still-waiting?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Dec 2018 23:00:39 +0000 When Super Typhoon Haiyan struck in 2013 it was the disaster-prone Philippines’ worst storm on record, with 7,350 people dead or missing. Several factors caused the staggering death toll: STRONGEST STORM With gusts exceeding 305kph at first landfall, Haiyan was the strongest ever to hit land at the time. Typhoons more commonly reach peak velocity while still travelling over oceans. The powerful front drove a giant wall of seawater called a storm surge, estimated to be 7.5 metres high, into... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2171693/why-philippines-super-typhoon-haiyan-was-so-deadly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2171693/why-philippines-super-typhoon-haiyan-was-so-deadly?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Nov 2018 04:48:49 +0000 Diofel Llamado fled for his life when Super Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines in 2013, yet today he is back living in the same coastal area – even if it puts him in the crosshairs of a future killer storm. On the fifth anniversary of the Philippines’ deadliest typhoon on record, his return is emblematic of the struggle in developing nations to move people out of homes in the most disaster-prone zones. It is an especially urgent danger as monster storms strike ever more frequently,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2171686/five-years-after-philippines-deadliest-typhoon-haiyan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2171686/five-years-after-philippines-deadliest-typhoon-haiyan?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Nov 2018 04:32:29 +0000 Agnes Bun is an award-winning video journalist for Agence France-Presse who for the past 10 years has covered major stories in Asia including the Rohingya refugee crisis and the 2015 Nepal earthquake. She writes about many of her experiences while on assignment in her upcoming book, There’s No Poetry in a Typhoon (published by Abbreviated Press). Asian-American adoption memoir a tango of abandonment, embrace In this excerpt, translated from the original French by Melanie Ho, Bun describes the... https://www.scmp.com/culture/books/article/2171233/typhoon-haiyan-journalists-struggle-convey-grim-reality-storms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/books/article/2171233/typhoon-haiyan-journalists-struggle-convey-grim-reality-storms?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Nov 2018 04:47:49 +0000 It has been five weeks now, since Typhoon Mangkhut wreaked havoc across Hong Kong. Still, the scars are raw, and not just a matter of a few tens of thousands of trees gone. If we are to properly absorb what climate change is all about, we need to look around us now. For most of the world’s 7 billion-plus people, climate change is not about whether global mean temperatures will be 1.5 degrees or 2 degrees higher, or about sea levels rising 10 centimetre more than previous models, or the melting... https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/2170540/see-how-climate-change-close-and-very-personal-look-no-further?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/2170540/see-how-climate-change-close-and-very-personal-look-no-further?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Oct 2018 05:30:00 +0000 Responding to a complaint filed by typhoon victims, a Philippines human rights commission agreed on Friday to look into whether large international fossil fuel companies are violating the human rights of its citizens by driving climate change. Holding oil, gas and coal companies responsible for deaths and financial losses in the Philippines “will be an uphill climb,” admitted Roberto Cadiz, a member of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines. But he said he felt duty bound to take on... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/1887014/philippine-typhoon-victims-prepare-lawsuit-against-fossil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/1887014/philippine-typhoon-victims-prepare-lawsuit-against-fossil?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Dec 2015 08:45:15 +0000 Life is a constant throw of the dice for farmer Nilo Dilao and other residents of the Philippine island of Samar, the ground zero for many of Asia's deadliest storms. Homes, boats, crops, livestock and jobs are all on the line each time the monster winds roar in from the Pacific Ocean, leaving survivors to mourn their dead and pick up the broken pieces, year in and year out. "Life is a struggle here," Dilao, 43, said a few days after Typhoon Hagupit destroyed his shanty and killed more than 20... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1667273/eking-out-living-typhoon-alley?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1667273/eking-out-living-typhoon-alley?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Dec 2014 14:00:45 +0000 Survivors of the strongest typhoon ever to hit land wept at mass graves yesterday during ceremonies to mark one year since the storm devastated the central Philippines and condemned millions to deeper poverty. Super Typhoon Haiyan claimed more than 7,350 lives as it swept in off the Pacific Ocean, with its record winds and once-in-a-generation storm surges flattening entire towns. The typhoon tore across a corridor of islands where about 14 million people lived in farming and fishing communities... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1635236/prayers-and-tears-philippines-remembers-devastation-haiyan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1635236/prayers-and-tears-philippines-remembers-devastation-haiyan?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Nov 2014 23:00:15 +0000 Six months after the strongest typhoon to hit land killed his mother and tore down much of their house in the eastern Philippines, Sofronio Cervantes wants to return home. But he faces a battle to scrape together the money to rebuild his life once he gets there. Like thousands of others, the 38-year-old farmer fled the destruction wrought by Super Typhoon Haiyan to Manila. After a fruitless search for work and surviving on the charity of his wife's relatives, Cervantes says it is now time to go... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1509234/survivors-super-typhoon-haiyan-philippines-struggle-rebuild-their-lives?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1509234/survivors-super-typhoon-haiyan-philippines-struggle-rebuild-their-lives?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 May 2014 22:02:38 +0000 Asia is witnessing a multitude of catastrophic climate-related disasters, with many lives lost and billions of dollars of damage done to economies. We need only look at the devastating effects of Super Typhoon Haiyan last year or the massive floods that brought Thailand to a standstill in 2011 to see the punishing impact of extreme weather. But, as many business leaders in Hong Kong and across Asia are realising, building climate resilience is not just an important preventative approach; it can... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1458330/businesses-must-do-more-protect-asias-cities-climate-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1458330/businesses-must-do-more-protect-asias-cities-climate-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Mar 2014 10:45:12 +0000 Returning to their destroyed village after a catastrophic typhoon that killed thousands in the Philippines last year, a weary band of Catholics vowed a lifelong sacrifice to thank God for saving them. They had walked through the streets of the village for three days before the storm with icons in hand while praying and asking the Lord to spare them from the looming disaster. We want to thank the Lord for giving us a second chance at life VILLAGER ELSIE INDI Although giant ocean surges that... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1448832/opong-villagers-believe-their-faith-what-saved-them-typhoon-haiyan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1448832/opong-villagers-believe-their-faith-what-saved-them-typhoon-haiyan?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Mar 2014 14:17:47 +0000 Philippine coconut oil exports fell 35 per cent at the start of this year, driving up global prices, after the destruction of millions of trees by Super Typhoon Haiyan. In normal times, the Philippines accounts for more than 40 per cent of world exports in the oil, which is used in daily items such as detergents, bath soap and margarine. Haiyan, which killed or left missing about 8,000 people in November last year, also destroyed or severely damaged about 10 per cent of the nation’s coconut... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1446091/super-typhoon-haiyan-hits-philippine-coconut-oil-exports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1446091/super-typhoon-haiyan-hits-philippine-coconut-oil-exports?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Mar 2014 08:30:45 +0000 Football superstar David Beckham visited the Philippines on Thursday to give comfort to survivors of the Asian country’s deadliest ever typhoon – although not everyone was sure of his identity. Hundreds of survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan rushed out of their tent shelters to welcome the global celebrity, who is nevertheless unfamiliar to many citizens of the Philippines, where basketball rather than soccer is king. “He’s so handsome. I heard he plays for the Azkals,” gushed mother-of-four... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1427142/beckham-raises-cheer-philippines-typhoon-survivors-not-everyone-recognises?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1427142/beckham-raises-cheer-philippines-typhoon-survivors-not-everyone-recognises?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Feb 2014 08:24:24 +0000 The Philippines said "thank you" on billboards around the world yesterday in gratitude for the massive outpouring of international help after Typhoon Haiyan killed about 8,000 people three months ago. Electronic billboards lit up with "Thank you" signs at New York's Times Square, Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Tokyo's Shibuya Crossing, London's Piccadilly Circus and five other cities on Friday, exactly three months after the super-typhoon struck the central Philippines. "The number of lives lost... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1424241/philippines-says-thank-you-world-typhoon-haiyan-aid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1424241/philippines-says-thank-you-world-typhoon-haiyan-aid?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Feb 2014 20:13:16 +0000 More than HK$2 million worth of aid, financed by Hong Kong’s Disaster Relief Fund, is being distributed in Philippine towns hit by Typhoon Haiyan. Relief packs featuring essential food stuffs, survival items and sanitary supplies are being handed out to about 5,000 families in the remote central Philippine towns of Ajuy, Batad and San Dionisio in Iloilo province. Representatives from the Amity Foundation’s Hong Kong office arrived in Iloilo shortly before the Lunar New Year to oversee the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1420535/philippine-typhoon-victims-receive-hk2-million-aid-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1420535/philippine-typhoon-victims-receive-hk2-million-aid-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Feb 2014 03:30:30 +0000 When Typhoon Haiyan cut a devastating swathe through the central Philippines last November, the US military was among the first to respond. In days, the United States starting delivering what would be nearly 1,000 personnel, 50 ships and aircraft, and tens of millions of dollars of aid to the hardest hit areas. The relief effort was swift and substantial, but so too were the political manoeuvrings that followed. Officials from both nations quickly framed the catastrophe as a justification for a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1420074/will-american-troops-return-philippine-bases?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1420074/will-american-troops-return-philippine-bases?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Feb 2014 21:30:15 +0000 A UK-based children's charity has asked the Philippines to investigate the suspected trafficking of children to work as sex workers in a region devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan, an aid official said yesterday. Plan International said it was concerned about five high school girls recruited in the aftermath of the November 8 typhoon in Basey and Marabut, two impoverished coastal towns on the island of Samar which suffered heavy damage and casualties. Aid groups have expressed concern over the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1403293/aid-group-fears-children-sex-trafficked-philippines-after-typhoon-haiyan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1403293/aid-group-fears-children-sex-trafficked-philippines-after-typhoon-haiyan?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Jan 2014 21:23:14 +0000 A devastating typhoon that killed thousands of people in the Philippines has unexpectedly given young traffic accident victim Mario Renos hope that he could one day walk again. Hit by a motorcycle while walking to school months before Super Typhoon Haiyan struck the central islands, the 13-year-old’s shrivelled legs are taking their first steps to recovery at a Red Cross tent hospital put up in Basey town. “I want to go back to school,” said Renos, gritting his teeth as he held on to metal... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1397990/typhoon-brings-unexpected-medical-relief-philippine-town?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1397990/typhoon-brings-unexpected-medical-relief-philippine-town?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Jan 2014 04:36:06 +0000 When Super Typhoon Haiyan tore through the southern Philippines last month, destroying towns, lives and livelihoods, the early Christmas decorations did not stand a chance. Maria Rose, a Filipino sociologist, had set up early for this year's festivities. Nothing is left. "The typhoon destroyed my tree and decorations. But what's important now for Christmas is that I'm together with my family," said Rose. Tacloban, the Philippine city that suffered the worst devastation from the super typhoon,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1389212/haiyan-survivors-tacloban-do-their-best-find-solace-christmas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1389212/haiyan-survivors-tacloban-do-their-best-find-solace-christmas?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Dec 2013 13:30:40 +0000 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the international community Sunday to ramp up aid for the Philippines’ typhoon reconstruction, saying “we must not allow this to be another forgotten crisis.” Ban met with key ambassadors stationed in Manila at the end of his three-day visit and urged donor countries to provide more aid in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the central Philippines on Nov. 8, killing at least 6,100 people and leaving nearly 1,800 others missing. Entire villages were... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1388272/un-urges-more-aid-philippine-typhoon-recovery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1388272/un-urges-more-aid-philippine-typhoon-recovery?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Dec 2013 07:08:19 +0000 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stepped up an appeal for funds to help the Philippines recover from a devastating typhoon last month after visiting stricken areas yesterday. "I was very saddened by what I have seen in Tacloban - total destruction, and an enormous number of people have been lost, we need to support them," Ban said after driving miles past flattened and damaged houses. Haiyan reduced almost everything in its path to rubble when it swept ashore in the central Philippines on... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1387716/dont-despair-un-chief-tells-filipino-typhoon-survivors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1387716/dont-despair-un-chief-tells-filipino-typhoon-survivors?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Dec 2013 11:30:30 +0000 The Philippine economy should grow 7.0 per cent this year and between 6.5 and 7.5 per cent next year despite the devastation caused by a killer typhoon and an earthquake, the government said on Tuesday. Economic planning minister Arsenio Balisacan said that while losses in agriculture caused by Super Typhoon Haiyan in November were expected to hit growth in the near term, rebuilding would likely make up for it further down the line. He said this year gross domestic product (GDP) growth should... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1384226/philippines-sees-high-economic-growth-despite-typhoon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1384226/philippines-sees-high-economic-growth-despite-typhoon?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Dec 2013 09:38:50 +0000 The number of people dead after one of the world’s strongest typhoons struck the Philippines has risen above 6,000, the government said on Friday, with nearly 2,000 others still missing. Five weeks after Super Typhoon Haiyan destroyed entire towns across the nation’s central islands, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council put the official death toll at 6,009, making it the Philippines’ deadliest recorded typhoon. The council said it is still looking for 1,779 missing people... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1379882/philippines-typhoon-death-toll-tops-6000?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1379882/philippines-typhoon-death-toll-tops-6000?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Dec 2013 10:54:56 +0000 Pop megastar Justin Bieber sang to young survivors of the Philippines’ deadliest typhoon on Tuesday after he flew into the disaster zone to boost an international relief effort. Bieber flew unannounced to the central city of Tacloban just over a month after it was devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan and sang Christmas carols to children at a local school amid tight security, witnesses said. “He sang Holy Night for the children,” said Kate Donovan, a spokeswoman for Unicef, one of three aid... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1377427/bieber-makes-surprise-visit-philippine-typhoon-survivors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1377427/bieber-makes-surprise-visit-philippine-typhoon-survivors?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:15:00 +0000 More than HK$1 million has been raised by 21 schools in Hong Kong to help people in the Philippines affected by last month's Typhoon Haiyan. Pupils and their families at schools under the English Schools Foundation (ESF) have been organising and participating in various fundraising events since the storm wreaked havoc and left more than 5,700 dead. Pupils have also been collecting items which could be needed in disaster-hit areas, such as kitchen equipment and hygiene kits, and one group even... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1376267/youngsters-jump-aid-typhoon-victims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1376267/youngsters-jump-aid-typhoon-victims?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Dec 2013 22:37:29 +0000 The government is back at work and markets are laden with fruits, pork, fish and bread. Shredded trees are sprouting new leaves. Above all, the sounds of a city getting back on its feet fill the air: the roar of trucks hauling debris, the scrape of shovel along pavement, the ping of hammer on nails. One month after Typhoon Haiyan, signs of progress in the shattered Philippine city of Tacloban are mixed with reminders of the scale of the disaster and the challenges ahead: Bodies are still being... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1376327/hope-springs-eternal-amid-philippines-typhoon-ruins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1376327/hope-springs-eternal-amid-philippines-typhoon-ruins?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Dec 2013 20:45:15 +0000 A month after one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded hit the Philippines, masses of survivors are living amid rubble in rebuilt shanty homes and experts say reconstructing destroyed communities will take years. The sight of people sleeping and cooking in wasteland towns highlights the overwhelming problems as an initial, frenzied emergency relief effort transforms into one focused on long-term rehabilitation. “A lot of people have received emergency assistance, but this is just the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1376152/one-month-after-super-typhoon-philippines-faces-huge-challenges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1376152/one-month-after-super-typhoon-philippines-faces-huge-challenges?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Dec 2013 09:11:36 +0000 Philippine policemen taking part in relief operations after Super Typhoon Haiyan have been banned from posting “selfies” taken in the disaster zone, a police official said yesterday. The police leadership ordered the ban on such selfies - pictures taken of oneself and then posted on social media - after hearing that several officers had already posted them, said Lina Sarmiento, head of the community relations section. “I think that’s (selfies) being insensitive. People there are suffering from... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1376129/philippine-police-banned-selfies-typhoon-disaster-area?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1376129/philippine-police-banned-selfies-typhoon-disaster-area?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Dec 2013 07:45:44 +0000 Filipinos working as domestic helpers will be sending more of their meagre wages home for years to come as their families rebuild homes and livelihoods devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the central Philippines last month. In the storm's immediate aftermath there has been a 20 per cent increase in remittances at BPI Remittance Centre (Hong Kong), said managing director Benjamin Panganiban. The Hong Kong subsidiary of Philippine National Bank, PNB Global Remittance and Financial... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1375647/filipino-domestic-helpers-remit-more-help-rebuild-after-typhoon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1375647/filipino-domestic-helpers-remit-more-help-rebuild-after-typhoon?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Dec 2013 22:26:58 +0000 I am vice-chairman of Oxfam Hong Kong. When the first news came through of the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, I took a special interest in seeing how local charities would respond. Normally, locally based relief agencies react to disasters like Haiyan by quickly seeking donations from the public and using those funds to aid victims. On this occasion, however, at least some locally based charities say they initially felt uncertain about what to do. The public mood seemed... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1367912/when-typhoon-haiyan-struck-moral-leadership-was-required?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1367912/when-typhoon-haiyan-struck-moral-leadership-was-required?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Nov 2013 10:45:00 +0000 Media outlets across the globe have hammered Beijing over its initial "insulting" US$100,000 emergency aid contribution after Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines. China has since raised its commitment to US$1.6 million while sending the Peace Ark, its first and only hospital ship, to the stricken nation. But the international narrative remains unchanged. Analysts are still weaving China's perceived humanitarian inaction into a wider web of issues encompassing regional territorial disputes,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1366279/why-china-cant-match-us-mission-typhoon-hit-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1366279/why-china-cant-match-us-mission-typhoon-hit-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Nov 2013 11:00:45 +0000 After Lyn Lyn Rael's three-room house was swept away by Super Typhoon Haiyan, leaving her husband and five children homeless, she borrowed 25,000 pesos (HK$4,404), the equivalent of two months' wages, from her employer in Singapore to send to her family. "They're all depending on me," said the 30-year-old nanny, who comes from Leyte province. "I had to leave the country two years ago to make money to pay for my kids' education and for our rice farm. Now to add to it, I need to rebuild our... https://www.scmp.com/business/economy/article/1365652/disasters-show-philippines-reliance-remittances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/economy/article/1365652/disasters-show-philippines-reliance-remittances?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Nov 2013 19:00:15 +0000 The best way to film the destruction wrought on Tacloban in the Philippines by Typhoon Haiyan was from the air, according to British photographer Lewis Whyld. But Whyld did not want to beg a ride on a military helicopter, taking the space of much-needed aid. So he launched a drone into the skies above the city. What drones give you is anywhere, anytime access to the sky CHRIS ANDERSON, FORMER EDITOR In addition to shots that showed the scale of the damage, broadcast by CNN recently, his... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1365595/drone-photography-develops-new-frontier-journalism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1365595/drone-photography-develops-new-frontier-journalism?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Nov 2013 14:00:45 +0000 Nearly half of the detainees who escaped from a flooded jail at the height of Typhoon Haiyan have returned, many after helping their families deal with the storm's aftermath. There were nearly 600 detainees at the Leyte Provincial Jail when the typhoon flattened dozens of towns across the islands of Leyte and Samar on November 8. The winds ripped off the roof of the prison, which houses detainees who are on trial, while gushing water from the mountains sent flash floods into the isolated complex... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1363830/filipino-inmates-who-escaped-during-haiyan-return?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1363830/filipino-inmates-who-escaped-during-haiyan-return?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Nov 2013 22:38:33 +0000 The UN has warned that 1.5 million children are at risk of malnutrition in typhoon-ravaged areas of the Philippines and has called for greater efforts to provide them with food and water. A UN appeal to cope with Typhoon Haiyan has been increased from US$301 million to US$348 million as the extent of the disaster becomes clearer. UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said the death toll - increased on Friday to 5,200 - would rise even as the spotlight turns away from the November 8 super... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1363831/un-relief-chief-calls-more-help-typhoon-victims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1363831/un-relief-chief-calls-more-help-typhoon-victims?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Nov 2013 22:38:33 +0000 Supplementing the quickening relief effort trying to help survivors of the Philippines typhoon is an informal - and sometimes underground - supply chain that is helping some people put food on the table. Families from as far away as Manila and the southern island of Mindanao endure long journeys by air, sea and land to bring food packs, tents, medicines and other materials to affected relatives. Friends stay with friends and communities share whatever they have, especially if a neighbour has... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1363518/informal-supply-chains-help-feed-typhoon-survivors-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1363518/informal-supply-chains-help-feed-typhoon-survivors-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Nov 2013 03:00:15 +0000 The number of people confirmed killed when a super typhoon devastated the Philippines surpassed 5,200 on Friday, the government said, making it one of the country’s deadliest natural disasters. The official death toll from the storm jumped by nearly 1,200 to 5,209, with another 1,611 people still missing, the spokesman for the government’s disaster management council, Reynaldo Balido, said. Super Typhoon Haiyan flattened dozens of towns across the central Philippines on November 8, bringing some... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1363098/philippine-typhoon-death-toll-surpasses-5200?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1363098/philippine-typhoon-death-toll-surpasses-5200?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Nov 2013 12:54:09 +0000 The city should brace itself for increasingly powerful typhoons and more widespread flooding in the next few decades as the climate warms and sea levels rise, the Hong Kong Observatory has warned. Sea levels are expected to rise by 40cm on average by the middle of the century as temperatures increase by at least two degrees Celsius, Observatory meteorologists said. "Hong Kong is like a frog in water that is gradually being brought to the boil; people do not seem to be aware of the long-term... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1362359/observatory-warns-increased-floods-and-more-powerful-typhoons?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1362359/observatory-warns-increased-floods-and-more-powerful-typhoons?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Nov 2013 15:30:15 +0000 The head of a Chinese aid mission to the Philippines says the crew of a hospital ship will try to contribute "new friendship". Rear Admiral Shen Hao, deputy chief of staff of the East China Sea fleet and commander of the mission, was speaking as the Peace Ark, a 300-bed floating navy medical facility, set sail rom a PLA base on Zhoushan island, off Zhejiang province to help typhoon victims. It is expected to take three or four days to reach the Philippines, which is embroiled in a territorial... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1362240/chinese-hospital-ship-peace-arks-friendship-mission-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1362240/chinese-hospital-ship-peace-arks-friendship-mission-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Nov 2013 13:30:00 +0000 With Sino-Philippine relations at rock bottom, the Chinese government this week decided to dispatch its most powerful navy ship to Philippine waters. However, this was nothing to do with the two countries' nasty argument about who owns what in the South China Sea. Nor was the ship in question the PLA Navy's new aircraft carrier or a guided-missile destroyer. This was the hospital ship Peace Ark, which will soon be treating sick and wounded survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan, and to call it... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1362037/after-detour-chinese-help-finds-its-way-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1362037/after-detour-chinese-help-finds-its-way-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Nov 2013 09:45:45 +0000 China is sending a state-of-the-art hospital ship to the Philippines following criticism that it was slow and stingy in its response to one of the world's biggest typhoons, which has killed at least 4,000 people. The Foreign Ministry confirmed the deployment of the 14,000-tonne Peace Ark as state television reported the arrival of the first batch of Chinese relief supplies in the Philippines. The Ark's exact area of operations and time of arrival have not been confirmed, but spokesman Hong Lei... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1361357/china-finally-joins-philippine-relief-mission-sending-hospital-ship?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1361357/china-finally-joins-philippine-relief-mission-sending-hospital-ship?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Nov 2013 13:45:30 +0000 A team of Chinese rescue workers set off for the Philippines on Wednesday to assist with disaster relief in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said. The team - composed of an emergency medical and rescue unit - represents the first batch of Chinese relief forces sent to the Philippines. The decision to send the humanitarian team comes in the wake of a furore surrounding the amount of aid the central government initially decided to donate to emergency relief... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1361025/first-chinese-relief-team-sets-typhoon-devastated-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1361025/first-chinese-relief-team-sets-typhoon-devastated-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Nov 2013 04:16:16 +0000 A prominent US senator reproached China on Tuesday for not doing more to support the typhoon-hit Philippines, saying the relief effort showed the need for US leadership in the world. Beijing initially offered only US$100,000 (HK$775,000) to the Philippines, a Washington ally with which it has tense territorial disputes. Donations later swelled its aid to US$1.8 million, but that was still a fraction of Japan’s US$30 million or the US commitment of US$20 million and its deployment of 1,000... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1360954/us-senator-scolds-china-over-philippines-typhoon-aid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1360954/us-senator-scolds-china-over-philippines-typhoon-aid?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Nov 2013 01:28:26 +0000 The first batch of Chinese aid has arrived in the typhoon-ravaged central Philippines as multinational reliefs teams ramped up efforts to help desperate survivors 11 days after the storm hit. The 10 million yuan (HK$12.65 million) worth of tents and blankets, shipped by a China Eastern Airlines cargo plane on Monday, was handed over to the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development. It was to be sent to Tacloban, one of the worst-hit areas in Leyte province, Xinhua said. It is on... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1360784/first-batch-chinese-aid-arrives-typhoon-haiyan-devastated-tacloban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1360784/first-batch-chinese-aid-arrives-typhoon-haiyan-devastated-tacloban?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Nov 2013 19:00:45 +0000 Skulls rest on tombstones and a hand reaches out from a grave at a cemetery in the eastern Philippines, after a typhoon so powerful it pulled the dead from the earth. Shell-shocked survivors speak of how there was nowhere to hide when Super Typhoon Haiyan brought the ocean surging ashore, sweeping through a school where children and the elderly cowered. The storm killed at least 75 people in the small rural town of Hernani. Another 45 are missing. And like something from a nightmare, the surge... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1360490/super-typhoon-haiyan-tore-bodies-their-graves-town-hernani?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1360490/super-typhoon-haiyan-tore-bodies-their-graves-town-hernani?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Nov 2013 18:55:45 +0000